How can I safely drink alcohol?

I have read the sticky about not drinking alcohol when in ketosis. I have a function coming up. If I decide I want to drink alcohol how soon before should I introduce carbs to make sure I don't do any serious damage to myself? Would it be okay just to have the carbs on the night or would I have to build up to it?

Haven't decided yet whether I definitely will drink but would rather know the situation in advance.

Hiya, I am interested in this. I am on holiday in 5 weeks time and as it's all inclusive will definitely be drinking. I was thinking of having a high carb meal the day before going to try and kick myself out of ketosis but I dont know how quickly it would work - hopefully we'll have some answers soon

To be safe I would say the day before & on the day & check & double check with Ketostix that you are out of Ketosis. That's my plan anyway, that is the one thing that scares me the most about drinking again, I've read so much re the effects of alcohol whilst in ketosis that if in doubt I'd rather stay off the booze! I have already put a stash of stix in my hols case just to make sure before I drink lol!! xx

Hi, first time poster but have been lurking for a while and getting lots of inspiration from you all.

I've been SS for 2 months now but have had 2 weekends off in that time and drank quite seriously during both... The last time I had nothing to eat at all and was fine and the 1st time I ate normally on the day of drinking and also felt no adverse effect. I am a bloke though who has always been a big drinker so not sure it that made a difference?! The first time was for my wedding and the second time for a weekend away so please forgive me!

Have gone from 15st 12lb to 13st 7lb since May 24th and am now at my original target weight although I intend to try and break the 12st barrier now.

I know Summerskye (Sharon) is very experienced in being able to come off SS for a couple of days when there is a function etc. I have been with her when she has done this sometimes and she will introduce small meals before drinking any alcohol and always eat regulary when we have had a day of drinking

I'm sure she be'll along soon to give any hints/tips. I will see if she's around on the site

If this helps at all as well, from my angle, professionally, you have to be very careful when introducing any substance (drugs/alcohol) back into your body after being abstinent for a while.

Your tolerance levels will have fallen significantly and you will not be able to handle the same amount/strength straightaway that you used to drink. This is where it's very easy to unintentionally increase risk to yourself and accidentally overdose on anything.

Have fun guys but please be careful

Last edited: 29 July 2008

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Isisxx

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase"

Hi,
Taking a CD break so havent been on in a while but just wanted to let you know my experience while on CD. I had a night out planned , I ate carbs from the day before and also ate a good meal on the day itself .......... I was drunk after two glasses of wine. So be careful my tolerance was really lowered even though I had prepared.

I know Summerskye (Sharon) is very experienced in being able to come off SS for a couple of days when there is a function etc. I have been with her when she has done this sometimes and she will introduce small meals before drinking any alcohol and always eat regulary when we have had a day of drinking

Click to expand...

As Lacey said, from the very start of my CD journey I incorporated some 'planned breaks' for weekends away, holidays, special events etc. where I consciously decided to come off the diet, eat and drink very carefully and then go back onto the diet the very moment I returned home.

On each occasion, I never allowed myself to think "Well, I've broken my diet now so one more day off won't matter". It DOES matter and if you feel you won't be strong enough to get back onto the diet immediately the event is over then my advice would be simply: Don't do it!

For some people, breaking the diet routine even for a single day (or meal) has been known to scupper the entire diet as they find getting back onto a sole source programme after introducing food (or alcohol) again is extremely difficult. I was strongly advised on many occasions not to do any kind of 'break' at all just in case that happened to me. I suppose I was just determined enough (some might say 'bloody-minded' ) and vowed not to let any kind of occasional break get in the way of me achieving my longer-term weightloss goals.

As a CDC myself now, I would caution anyone who is thinking of doing this to plan VERY carefully indeed - both for the event itself as well as getting back onto the diet program you're doing straight away afterwards. I would definitely recommend looking at the Weightcare with Cambridge booklet and reading up carefully on the types of foods listed in the 810 or 1000 calorie plans and sticking closely to the type of foods listed there.

In my case, I tended to avoid carbs as much as possible and stuck rigidly to vodka/slimine tonic as far as alcohol was concerned as white spirit contains fewer carbs than, say, wine or (horrors!) beer/lager. Eating a small amount of carbs can help 'line the stomach' though - but just don't overdo it and go on a complete carb binge. Whenever I did that, getting back into ketosis was a lot less difficult than it would have been if I'd 'carb-loaded' before and during the event.

I hope this helps. To echo Lacey's words, have fun but PLEASE be careful - and get straight back on your diet the moment the event is over

thanks for that, just what i needed to hear,
i came off only 2 1/2 weeks after for a night out that hed been planned for ages, and managed to get straight back into it.
also have a friend visiting so may have a slack week with vodka, and some chicken on the barbie maybe salad, and as you said sharon, avoid too many carbs, ad stick to food listed on the higher plans.
thanks again! x

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